Following pre and post-management surveying along Bovey Valley wood’s ancient banks and boundaries in August 2020 (Back in the Bovey blog), professional habitat-management contractors working for the Woodland Trust and Natural England have been selectively clearing holly, beech and sycamore to bring back the light to the woodland understorey, as part of Plantlife’s ‘Building Resilience in South West Woodlands’ project. Without management, many of these ancient boundaries have become over-grown with shading tree species which can become invasive if notRead more
Posts filed in: Management
A Growing Problem
The view along the Bovey Valley Woods is a dramatic scene that makes many passers-by stop and stare. Taking time to absorb this spectacle is one of the great pleasures of Dartmoor. It is one of those iconic panoramas of the eastern moor where the sweeping skyline of Lustleigh Cleave provides a bold and rocky backdrop for the diverse, soft patterns and colours of the tree cover that sweeps along the valley. Breath-taking at any time of year. But recently,Read more
Autumn Works in the Bovey Valley Woods
As the shades of summer green start to fade, the cooling autumn air brings a final flurry of activity before the woods of the Bovey Valley settle down for winter. Bird nesting season is over and, for some woodland mammals, food caches are building. For others, hibernation has yet to begin, making this the perfect time between the seasons for some carefully planned woodland habitat management work. This steep and scenic valley is home to many interesting species including theRead more
Building Resilience Back in the Bovey
This August saw the return of Plantlife’s Building Resilience in the South-West project to Bovey Valley woods. In partnership with the Woodland Trust and Natural England, this National Lottery Heritage Fund funded project has seen the valleys historic field boundaries surveyed and managed, to increase their habitat value for the many rare lichen species they support. In previous years, the surveys have been carried out with the help of citizen science volunteers from the local community, gathering data on lightRead more
TIMBER! Tells a Story
On a rare dry Dartmoor day, the Timber! celebration took place, once again, at Pullabrook Wood in the Bovey Valley. As before, it was hosted by the Woodland Trust and Natural England but, this year, recent storms and floods have left the woods feeling a bit damp, though a healthy turn out of visitors got together to enjoy and learn about the conservation management of the Bovey Valley Woods. Restoration of plantation woodlands is a complicated process and this specialRead more
Dozing Dormice (Part 2)
In our earlier Dozing Dormouse blog (Part 1) we explored the usual routes to monitoring dormice either through licensed surveying or through signs of presence – from long empty summer nests – to discarded dormouse dinners of gnawed nuts. National Nature Reserves (NNRs) were set up to both protect habitats, species and geology and to be outdoor laboratories. Science and research continue to be a core objective as part of today’s NNR conservation strategy and therefore dormice have been the focusRead more
